Department for Transport

Taxis: Licensing

lord bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government which local authority licensing committees in England do not require the applicant for (1) a black cab licence, and (2) a private hire licence, to undertake the Knowledge test.

baroness sugg: The Department for Transport does not hold information as to which licensing authorities include a topographical knowledge assessment as part of their requirements to issue a taxi or private hire vehicle driver licence. This information is held by licensing authorities.

Railways: Leeds

lord bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government on how many days the full half-hourly weekday train service between Leeds and London, in both directions, ran before the pre-planned cancellations were introduced on 13 August 2018.

baroness sugg: During the period from 21 May to 10 August 2018 LNER only operated the full half-hourly weekday timetable on the Leeds to London route (in both directions) on 19 of the 60 days, with at least 1 cancellation of a Leeds to London or London to Leeds service on the other 41 days. Following the implementation of the May 2018 timetable services on Northern, GTR and Trans Pennine Express were severely disrupted. This level of disruption also impacted East Coast services (being operated by Virgin Trains East Coast), and was the underlying cause of the worsening performance. LNER also experienced reliability issues due to the age of their rolling stock whilst they await the introduction of the Azuma Intercity Express Trains. When LNER commenced operations on 24 June 2018, the DfT worked with the operator to give passengers more certainty of the services running. The decision was taken to remove a small number of Leeds services from 13 August 2018. This provided LNER with a spare train (for use if one breaks down) to prevent further trains being cancelled, and additional time in maintenance depots. We are monitoring the situation closely and working with LNER to reinstate the pre-planned cancellations as quickly as possible, but sufficient resilience is not likely until there are new Azuma trains in service later this year.

Transport: Freight

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to reduce the impact of congestion and delays on road and rail freight to help boost trade imports after Brexit.

baroness sugg: The Department for Transport, Highways England and other partners continue to work closely together to develop contingency plans for traffic management in case of border disruption in Kent. Known as Operation Brock, these plans have been designed to ensure that the M20 will be kept open and traffic will continue to flow in both directions at times of cross-Channel disruption. Furthermore the Department has requested Highways England to continue to engage with all relevant Local Resilience Forums on plans for a range of circumstances in a no-deal scenario.In addition, as part of sensible contingency planning, the Department has entered into contracts with DFDS, Brittany Ferries and Seaborne Freight which are intended to increase the available ro-ro capacity available to help maintain the flow of trade in the event of constriction of capacity on the short Straits.The Government has also been engaging closely with a range of partners to ensure that trade can continue to move as freely as possible through the Channel Tunnel. In addition, the Government has and continues to hold discussions with interested parties, including businesses, to assess all potential options to provide additional rail freight services in the event of no deal.

London Airports: Public Transport

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to reverse the reported decline in the number of passengers using public transport to reach (1) Heathrow, (2) Gatwick, and (3) Luton, airports.

baroness sugg: Department for Transport published statistics show that the number of passengers using public transport is fairly stable at Heathrow, Gatwick and Luton over the last ten years. Government policy is that the provision and funding of surface access infrastructure and services to airports is primarily the responsibility of the airport operator unless there are significant non-airport user benefits, in which case the Government would consider making a funding contribution. As part of their Surface Access Strategies we expect airports to set targets for increasing the proportion of journeys made to the airport by public transport for both airport workers and passengers, and put in place a strategy to achieve those targets. In our Aviation Strategy consultation, we are proposing a number of measures that aim to better support airports in achieving their mode share ambitions, including uprating Airport Transport Forums so that local and central Government, airports, and transport providers have the opportunity to contribute appropriately to the delivery and monitoring of airports environmental targets.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Hydroelectric Power: Feed-in Tariffs

lord foulkes of cumnock: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to retaining Feed-in Tariffs for small community-run hydroelectricity schemes.

lord henley: The Government confirmed on 18 December 2018 the closure of the Feed-In Tariffs scheme to all new applications after 31 March 2019 subject to a number of time-limited extensions and a grace period. The Government is considering its future approach and what measures might be taken to support the efforts of community organisations and education providers who want to invest in low-carbon energy installations as part of its consultation on a Smart Export Guarantee which was published on 8 January. The consultation is open until 5 March and can be assessed on GOV.UK.

Small Businesses

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of small and medium-sized companiespreparations for Brexit, including if no deal is agreed.

lord henley: Through the Government’s public information campaign, we are ensuring the latest advice and information on all aspects of leaving the EU reaches businesses through channels such as press releases, radio and social media. Businesses are directed to the ‘Prepare your business for EU Exit’ government website. We are also ensuring that business representative organisations, including trade associations and professional bodies can support businesses by sharing information and advice with their members. We will continue to listen to businesses up and down the country through our regular engagements.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Christianity: Oppression

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the budget for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office global reviewinto the persecution of Christians; what is the timeframe for agreeing the terms of reference for that review; and whether it will be possible for external experts and organisations to comment on these terms before they are finalised.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office attaches great importance to this independent global review into the persecution of Christians, which was launched on 30 January. The Terms of Reference for the review are currently being agreed with the independent reviewer. They will be published once finalised. We will ensure that the Bishop of Truro is well supported and has the resources needed to conduct the review.

Cabinet Office

Mystery Shopper Service

lord mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was (1) the annual budget, and (2) the staffing level of the Mystery Shopper Service; and what are the planned annual budget and staffing level of its successor body, the Public Procurement Review Service.

lord young of cookham: The Mystery Shopper was renamed the Public Procurement Review Service on 29 November 2018The budget for the Public Procurement Review Service is allocated within the overall budget for the Small Business Policy Team in the Cabinet Office. At present there are four full time members of staff and one part time (0.6 FTE) member of staff working on the Public Procurement Review ServiceThe staffing budget for the Small Business Policy Team in 2017/18 was £847,000, and the total spend for the Small Business Policy Team was £968,000The staffing budget for the Small Business Policy Team in 2018/19 is £971,900, and the total spend for the Small Business Policy Team is £1,094,700The number of staff who worked in the Mystery Shopper team since the service commenced in 2011 can be viewed at the following link: https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2019-01-18/210027/

Department of Health and Social Care

Postnatal Care

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the NHS provides post-natal examinations of mothers and babies.

baroness blackwood of north oxford: Commissioners and providers should ensure that services offer a review of a woman’s physical, emotional and social wellbeing by a healthcare professional at the end of the postnatal period (six-eight weeks). National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines on postnatal care stipulate that a documented, individualised postnatal care plan should be developed with the woman ideally in the antenatal period or as soon as possible after birth.All parents are also offered a thorough physical examination for their baby within 72 hours of giving birth. This examination includes screening tests to find out if a baby has any problems with their eyes, heart, hips and, in boys, the testicles (testes). Parents are offered another physical examination for their baby at the end of the postnatal period, as some of the conditions the NHS screens for can take time to develop. This second examination is usually done at a general practitioner’s (GP) surgery.GPs may combine the two checks, for parent and baby, at the same appointment.

Postnatal Care

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government who is responsible for enabling that women have post-natal examinations to detect any birth injury which may have gone unnoticed at delivery.

baroness blackwood of north oxford: Commissioners and providers should ensure that services offer a review of a woman’s physical, emotional and social wellbeing by a healthcare professional at the end of the postnatal period (six-eight weeks).Relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines stipulate that postnatal care for women needs to address any deviation from expected recovery after birth and any symptoms reported by the woman or identified through clinical observations should be assessed. Women should be advised of the signs and symptoms of potentially life-threatening conditions, including those that may arise as a result of birth injury, and to contact their healthcare professional immediately or call for emergency help if any signs and symptoms occur. Signs and symptoms of infection, inadequate repair, wound breakdown or non-healing should be evaluated and urgent action taken. Additionally, women may be offered an examination to see if their stitches have healed if they had an episiotomy or caesarean section.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Ulcerative Colitis

baroness young of old scone: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to (1)review, and (2) update, the NICE guidelines for the management of (a) Crohn’s disease, and (b) ulcerative colitis.

baroness blackwood of north oxford: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent body and is responsible for reviewing and updating its guidelines as new evidence becomes available.NICE’s clinical guidelines for the management of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis were both reviewed in 2017 and are both in the process of being updated.The Crohn’s disease guideline update focuses on postsurgical maintenance of remission, whilst the ulcerative colitis guideline update focuses on medicines used to induce remission in people with mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis and treating acute severe ulcerative colitis.NICE expects to publish its updated guidelines for both conditions in May 2019.

Gastrointestinal System: Diseases

baroness young of old scone: To ask Her Majesty's Government when initial findings are anticipated from the gastroenterology Getting It Right First Time workstream; and whether that workstream will make recommendations about inflammatory bowel disease services.

baroness blackwood of north oxford: Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) gastroenterology pilot visits will begin in April 2019, to test the data packs. Once cleared, these data packs will be sent to all English trusts and visits to these trusts will commence in June 2019. While initial findings will start to become clear in autumn 2019, GIRFT does not release its recommendations until the publication of the National report, which, after feedback from key stakeholders including the British Society of Gastroenterology, is scheduled to be released in summer 2020.GIRFT will be looking at all areas of gastroenterology, including areas relevant to patients with inflammatory bowel disease. However, it is too early to say what specific recommendations will be made in each area.

Department for International Development

Brazil: Floods

lord roberts of llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assistance, if any, they have provided to the victims of the recent mud flow in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

lord bates: No requests for assistance from HMG have been received. Our embassy is in contact with local authorities who are doing all that they can to help those affected. Our consulate in Belo Horizonte is in contact with British stakeholders that could provide assistance.

Department for Education

Free School Meals

lord bassam of brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the implications of their decision to delay the roll out ofUniversal Credit for the implementation of the changes to free school meals entitlement.

lord bassam of brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the numbers of children in receipt of free school meals affected by their decision to delay the roll out of Universal Credit; and what information they intend to sharewith parents, local education authorities and schools affected.

lord agnew of oulton: The continuing provision of free school meals (FSM) to children from out of work families or those on low incomes is of the utmost importance to this government and we are committed to ensuring that disadvantaged children and young people benefit from FSM. We estimate that under the new eligibility criteria introduced last April, the number of pupils eligible for FSM will increase by 2022 when compared to the old system.Further to this, we expect many more pupils to be receiving FSM due to the generous protections that we have put in place. The department will continue to publish statistics on FSM as part of its annual publication ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’, and the latest version is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2018.Following the change to FSM eligibility criteria under Universal Credit in April 2018, we published a technical note that set out the methodology for our analysis. This highlighted the uncertainty within the analysis and how outputs might change where we received revised economic forecasts, for example. The technical note is attached, and can also be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/707466/Additional_free_school_meal_pupils_under_Universal_Credit.pdf.The department has provided guidance, attached, to schools and local authorities to support them in implementing the change to FSM criteria. We will continue to communicate with local authorities, schools, and parents, including when any changes are made to the guidance.



HL13093_HL13094_Technical_note
(PDF Document, 208.78 KB)




HL13093_HL13094_Free_school_meals_guidance
(PDF Document, 399.08 KB)

Ministry of Justice

Government Bills

lord hodgson of astley abbotts: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce further Law Commission bills; and if so, when.

lord keen of elie: The Government values and supports the important work the Law Commission undertake to improve the statute book. The introduction of new Bills will be announced in the usual manner.

Ministry of Justice: ICT

lord morris of aberavon: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answers byLord Keen of Elie (HL Deb, col 706) and the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Justice (HC Deb, col 248) on 23 January, whether there are penalty clauses in the contractual arrangements with their IT system supplier; and if so, what are the effects of such clauses.

lord keen of elie: There are penalty clauses within the contract in question, these penalties are financial and are based on contractually agreed performance criteria.Dependent on the nature of the incident or contractual breach, additional commercial remedies exist, these include rights of step-in or termination.

Female Genital Mutilation: Prosecutions

lord pearson of rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Manzoor on 29 January (HL12848), how many successful prosecutions there have been in the UK for female genital mutiliation; and how many prosecutions are pending.

lord keen of elie: Up until 31 December 2017, there have been two prosecutions in England and Wales (one in 2014, and one in 2016) but no convictions for the principal offence of female genital mutilation under the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003. Data for 2018 will be published in May 2019.Whilst not yet recorded in the official statistics, a jury convicted the first defendant of an FGM offence on 1 February 2019.Information around pending prosecutions is held by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Treasury

Economic Growth

baroness kennedy of cradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the balance of economic output throughout the UK's nations and regions.

lord bates: In 2017, 76% of UK economic output was generated outside London. Since 2010, 60% of the increase in UK employment has come from regions outside London and the South East and of the 11 nations and regions outside of London, eight have seen higher productivity growth than London since 2010. This government continues to support the unique needs of regional economies. We are continuing to back further devolution where appropriate, enabling local areas to take strategic decisions about local priorities, and we are investing in all parts of the UK, for example through the £12bn multi-year Local Growth Fund, which continues to support a range of productivity focused investments across England.

Social Mobility

baroness kennedy of cradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the structural economic disparities in the UK that affect social mobility.

lord bates: Income inequality is lower than it was in 2010, supported by gains in the employment rate since the financial crisis. Growth in employment rates has particularly benefitted the poorest fifth of households, whose employment rate is now more than 7 percentage points higher than in 2007/08 – more than anywhere else in the income distribution. The UK has the 5th lowest level of persistent poverty in the EU. Furthermore, the most recent analysis by the Department for Work and Pensions has shown that, of those surveyed in 2015-16, 53% of those in the bottom income quintile in 2010-11 were in a higher income quintile in 2015-16. The government is also taking steps to improve education for every child – with 95% of all early years’ settings now rated Good or Outstanding – up from 68% in 2010; the attainment gap is narrowing; record rates of disadvantaged 18 year olds are getting into university; and the Chief Ofsted inspector said in her latest annual report that ‘more education funding [is] now being directed at disadvantaged pupils than more affluent ones, addressing historic inequities’.

Bank Services

baroness kennedy of cradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of people in the UK that are unbanked.

lord bates: The Treasury does not make assessments of the number of people who do not have a bank account. However, in 2017, the Financial Conduct Authority published the results of the Financial Lives Survey which found that 1.3 million UK adults were unbanked, i.e. have no current account or alternative e-money account. The Financial Lives Survey report contains further information on the characteristics of the unbanked and their preferences to have a bank account. The report analyses survey results across the four nations of the UK, the nine regions of England, and by rural and urban areas. The FCA intend to repeat the Financial Lives Survey on a regular basis in future.

Credit Unions

baroness kennedy of cradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they give to credit unions.

lord bates: The government remains committed to supporting credit unions, which provide vital services to financially under-served communities and contribute to the diversity of the UK’s financial services sector. At Autumn Budget 2018, the Chancellor announced a two-year pilot of a new prize-linked savings scheme offered through credit unions. This will support the credit union sector through increased membership, awareness and deposits, as well as encouraging participants to build up savings to help them cope with financial shocks. The Chancellor also announced a new £2 million challenge fund to promote innovative solutions from the UK’s Fintech sector to address challenges faced by social and community lenders, including credit unions. This follows the success of last year’s Rent Recognition Challenge, where Government backing has supported UK Fintechs to successfully develop and roll out digital solutions for incorporating rental data into credit scores.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Non-Native Species

baroness byford: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many non-native invasive species outbreaks have been identified in each year since 2014; what steps have been taken to eradicate such species; and at what cost.

lord gardiner of kimble: Invasive non-native species outbreaks since 2014 include several incursions of Asian hornet, as well as raccoon, coati, quagga mussel, various leafed water milfoil, acrobat ant, marbled newt, American comb jelly, Asian super ant, American lobster, argentine ant, gulf wedge clam and pacific salmon. Swift and effective action has been taken to remove populations of Asian hornet, American lobster, raccoon and coati, with ongoing action against the various-leaved water milfoil. In some cases it has not been feasible to eradicate species and so biosecurity measures to contain or reduce spread are being developed. Biosecurity and control of invasive non-native species are devolved matters. In England in 2016/17 the Government spent an estimated total of £922,000 on biosecurity measures relating to invasive non-native species. I will write to the Noble Baroness with further information regarding the costs from 2014- 2018.

Home Office

Immigration: EU Nationals

lord bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether EU citizens who have already paid the £65 fee to apply for settled status will receive a full refund.

baroness williams of trafford: As the Prime Minister announced on 21 January, there will be no fee for applications under the EU Settlement Scheme when we roll out the scheme in full by 30 March. Anyone who has applied during the pilot phase, or who does so, will have their fee reimbursed. The Home Office will set out further details in due course.

Police: Pensions

the lord bishop of durham: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State for Policing and the Fire Service on 24 January 2018 (123402), what plans they have, if any, to amend the Police Pensions Regulations 1987 and the Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006 to equalise the support given to the widows of police officers.

baroness williams of trafford: There are no plans to make any further changes to survivor benefits for police pension schemes.On 18 January 2016, the Police Pensions Regulations 1987 and the Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006 were amended to allow widows, widowers and civil partners of police officers in England and Wales who have died on duty and who qualified for a survivor pension after 1 April 2015 to continue to receive their survivors’ benefits for life.Successive governments have been clear that we have a general presumption against making retrospective changes to public service pension schemes. However the Government believes the arguments for making a limited exception for the widows of police officers who died on duty are sufficiently compelling in this case.

Sir Edward Heath

lord lexden: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Baroness Barran on 20 December 2018 (HL Deb, col 1996), when they will provide a full explanation of thereasons behind their decision not to establish an inquiry into the seven outstanding allegations against Sir Edward Heath left open at the end of Operation Conifer.

baroness williams of trafford: The Government has set out its reasons for not establishing an inquiry into the allegations against Sir Edward Heath most recently on the floor of the House on 11 and 18 December 2018. The Home Secretary also wrote to Lord Armstrong of Ilminster on 10 October 2018 and a copy of this letter was placed in the Library of the House. The Government’s position remains as previously set out: there are no grounds to justify review or intervention by Government.

Prescriptions: Artificial Intelligence

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 21 January (HL12620), what is the definition of vulnerability in relation to the National Data Analytics Solution project; and how many people on any database used by that project are deemed to be vulnerable.

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many individuals' data are included on the databases that are used by the National Data Analytics Solution project; and of those, how many have been found guilty of committing a crime.

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they require consent from individuals whose data are held on any database that is used as part of the National Data Analytics Solution project for their data to be held.

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government when, and how, the evaluation of the National Data Analytics Solutions project will be made public.

baroness williams of trafford: The National Data Analytics Solution project is police led and West Midlands Police have ownership of the definition of vulnerability and how many people on any database used by that project are deemed to be vulnerable; how many individuals' data are included and how many have been found guilty fo committing a crime and whether they require consent from individuals whose data are held on any database.HL13078 - The project will be evaluated after it completes in March 2019. The Home Office is yet to agree a Report submission date with West Midlands Police. A decision whether to share widely or publish rests with the force’s Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable.

National Security

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risks to UK security and counter-terrorism operations regarding uncertainty over shared data and intelligence with the EU in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

baroness williams of trafford: We are unable to answer this question, or publish information related to operational processes, procedures and assessments due to the risk of releasing information which could be exploited to the detriment of national security.

Immigration Controls

lord browne of belmont: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans are in place to allow visitors from Australia and Canada to use e-passport gates.

baroness williams of trafford: As part of the budget on 29 October 2018, the Government announced that, from this summer, nationals of Australia and Canada would be permit-ted to use ePassport gates when crossing the UK border. Nationals of Ja-pan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the United States will also benefit from this change.

Department for Exiting the European Union

EU Action: Parliamentary Scrutiny

lord boswell of aynho: To ask Her Majesty's Government, for each government department, from July to December 2018, on how many occasions the Scrutiny Reserve Resolution was overridden in (1) the House of Lords, and (2) the House of Commons; and in respect of how many documents an override occurred in (a) both Houses, (b) the House of Lords, and (c) the House of Commons.

lord callanan: Between July and December 2018, 350 Explanatory Memoranda on EU proposals and other documents were submitted for scrutiny.Across both Houses there were 35 occasions when the Government supported decisions in the EU Council of Ministers before the scrutiny procedures had been completed.As with previous six-monthly periods, the largest category of instruments were fast-moving and sensitive Common Foreign and Security Policy/EU restrictive measures proposals where there were 27 such instruments adopted before scrutiny could be completed.The figures requested are set out below: Department(1 & b). House of Lords override(2 & c). House Commons override(a).No. of overrides in both Houses at same timeTotal no. of overridesBusiness, Energy and Industrial Strategy1111Cabinet Office1111Digital, Culture, Media and Sport1001Environment, Food and Rural Affairs0101Foreign and Commonwealth Office24201628HM Treasury3333Totals30262135

Department for International Trade

Overseas Trade: Reviews

lord allen of kensington: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many joint trade reviews they have undertaken with other countries in the last12 months; and with which countries such reviews were undertaken.

baroness fairhead: We are conducting a Joint Trade and Investment Review with China, which is an important part of significantly deepening our trade and investment partnership. We have made good progress and aim to agree recommendations in 2019. The UK-India Joint Trade Review was concluded in January 2018 and the UK-Brazil Joint Trade Review was concluded in March 2018. The UK is committed to working collaboratively with both India and Brazil to deepen the bilateral trade relationship, both before and after the UK leaves the EU. We have made good progress - for example through removing barriers affecting UK businesses.

Japan: Companies

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Sony’s recent decision to move their European headquarters to the Netherlands from London; and what plans, if any, they have to encourage Japanese companies to trade in the UK after Brexit.

baroness fairhead: Sony is an important investor in the UK employing around 6,000 people. Sony has recently taken a decision to set up a subsidiary in Amsterdam as part of their EU exit contingency planning. Sony have said they are not planning to change any of the functions in the UK, including the number of jobs in the UK HQ at this time.The Department for International Trade teams in the UK and Japan actively promote and support increasing investment and trade between Japan and the UK and will continue to do so after we leave the EU. This was discussed by both Prime Minsters during PM Abe’s recent visit to the UK.

Import Duties

lord pearson of rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by the Lord Privy Seal (Baroness Evans of Bowes Park) on 21 January (HL Deb, col 570), what estimate they have made of the tariffs which would be paid to the UK by (1) EU exporters on goods sold in the UK, and (2) UK exporters on goods sold in the EU, in the event of a no-deal Brexit under World Trade Organisation terms.

baroness fairhead: If the UK were to leave the EU without a deal in place, Most Favoured Nation tariffs would apply to bilateral trade. Assuming the UK and EU’s current MFN rates were applied, UK exports to the EU would face tariffs of around £6bn per year and EU exports to the UK would face tariffs of around £14bn per year. This is an estimate based on average trade data for 2015-17 and assumes that trade patterns remain unaffected by the imposition of tariffs. The actual value of trade and the amount of duties applied between the UK and the EU in this scenario would depend on how UK and EU firms and consumers respond to the introduction of tariffs.The Government wants to avoid these potential barriers to free trade and believes that the best option for both the UK and the EU is for us to leave with a deal. This Government wishes to have the greatest possible tariff-free trade with our European neighbours and for this reason we remain determined to secure a deal.

Overseas Trade

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to switch to trading on World Trade Organisation terms in the event of a no-deal Brexit; and if so, whether they anticipate that such arrangements would allow for frictionless, tariff-free trade.

baroness fairhead: The UK has lodged its independent schedules at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), on which it would be able to trade in the event of a no deal.As a responsible government, we will continue to plan for all scenarios including the possibility of the UK leaving the EU without an agreement. By necessity, this means trading on WTO terms, including paying the tariffs levied by WTO members on imports to their markets where there is no preferential agreement.The UK will be able to decide its own tariff policy when we leave the EU. The Government is looking at a spectrum of options and is carefully considering the evidence available before making a final decision in the interests of industry and consumers.

The Senior Deputy Speaker

Parliament: Demonstrations

lord palmer: To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what are the average daily costs to Parliament of any additional Parliamentary security personnel who have been required to deal with the demonstrators near to the Palace of Westminster since 23 June 2016.

lord mcfall of alcluith: There have been no additional costs to Parliament. The additional security staff fall into two categories, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and private security provision for the broadcasters. The resources for the police officers who are part of the wider MPS response to Brexit do not fall within the contractual arrangement between MPS and Parliament, therefore Parliament is not paying any extra for policing these protests. Private security provision for the broadcasters is contracted by various broadcasters on Abingdon Green, which Parliament does not pay for.